Month: January 2017

A series of raids by Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) today uncovered Taiwan’s first case of Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) manufacturing. DMT, a drug traditionally associated with South American shamanic practices, induces powerful psychedelic experiences. A man in Taichung surnamed Tsai, was found in possession of 170 kilograms of the finished product, along with 450 kilograms of the raw material. DMT is manufactured from the bark of acacia trees, which are abundant in the mountains of Taiwan. Tsai was busted after an

A new video game set during Taiwan’s martial law era went live on Steam January 13 and has received “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on the game platform in the few days since release. “Detention” is a 2D horror genre game developed by Taiwan’s Taipei-based game studio Red Candle Games. It features horror elements from Buddhist and Taoist religions, as well as Taiwanese folk superstitions. Called “Back to School” in the Chinese language version, the game is set on an isolated school

One motorcyclist landed on the roof of the car, and another in a roadside ditch, after a driver smashed into the riders head on while performing an illegal overtake around a blind bend. The driver of the car, Mr Chen, crossed double lines, and was on the wrong side of the road as he was going into the bend. One motorcylist, Mr Wang, ended up on the roof of the car, suffering multiple fractures. His injuries were described as non

A taxi driver in New Taipei City has been arrested after allegedly drugging and sexually abusing two Korean women January 13. Three Korean women hired the driver over a two day period to take them on tours around northern Taiwan. On the second day, the driver gave each of the women a popular lactic acid drink – Yakult, at a location near Jiufen. Two of the women drank the contents, while a third felt it tasted bitter after taking just

Members of Taiwan’s Democratic People’s Party (DPP) have called on the National Police Administration to crack-down on gangs that have been appearing at public meetings and demonstrations, and recently attempted to beat up Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong. DPP legislators believe that China has been covertly working with gangs to undermine Taiwan’s democracy. They called on the NPA to apply ‘an iron hand’ to cut off sources of funding for the gangs by raiding underground casinos, massage parlors, and

The crew of a Panamanian-registered cargo vessel was airlifted to safety when the ship listed and started to sink 26 miles west of Kaohsiung this morning, January 14, 2017. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense reported that the National Rescue Command Center received a mayday message at 10:42am this morning. An airforce EC225 helicopter was dispatched to airlift the 13-person Indonesian nationality crew. The ship appears to belong to Chinese shipping company Guandong Tongcheng Shipping.

The man credited with creating the system used to write the Chinese language using the Latin alphabet passed away today, January 14, just one day after his 111th birthday. Zhou Youguang (周有光) was born January 13, 1906, and was 112 years-old according to the Chinese method of counting a person’s age. In 1955, Zhou was appointed head of a committee to develop a romanization system to render the sounds of the Chinese language using the Latin alphabet. The system the

Former President of Academia Sinica, and Nobel Laureate for his services to Chemistry, Yuan Tseh Lee, today urged the government of Taiwan to impose a carbon tax to deal with the country’s worsening air pollution. Speaking at the opening of an exhibition at the National Museum of Natural Science, Professor Lee said pollution should be converted into a price in order to achieve an ideal state of clean energy. Professor Lee drew attention to the costs of pollution in terms

Customs officials yesterday intercepted what they say is the biggest elephant tusk ever seized at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. A Taiwanese man surnamed Chen attempted to enter the country with the tusk after purchasing it in Beijing. Mr Chen claims that he paid 200,000RMB (NTD930,000) for the tusk. Customs officers measured the tusk at 116 centimeters in length, and 11 centimeters in diameter at the base. The tusk weighs 10.22 kilograms. Mr Chen arrived on a flight from Beijing at

Australia’s One Nation Party revoked their endorsement of Shan Ju Lin, the party’s first Asian-Australian candidate, after the Taiwan-born candidate made controversial comments about gay people. Party leader Pauline Hanson dumped the member after Ms Lin posted a comment on her Facebook page saying that gay people engaged in “abnormal sexual behaviour” and “should be treated as patients.” Ms Lin has since allegedly deleted the comments. One Nation Party officials were unable to contact her through other means, and used

Eight passengers suffered slight injuries when a tour bus crashed through a guard rail and slid down a slope off a highway ramp, at Badu, north of Taipei City at around 7:00am this morning, January 7, 2017. Most passengers managed to disembark without assistance through a rear emergency exit. Apple Daily reported that the driver is suspected to have been under the influence of cold medicine. Liberty Times Network reported that the driver lost control during a fit of coughing.